1.4.g What do People and Providers Say?

What do people say about their experience of birth?

"If you have to go to a hospital, having someone there who you know is on your side, who shares your values, who you’ve chosen to be on your team, that you’ve spent time with leading up to the birth and then who would continue to be with you afterwards, is just so, so worth whatever you have to do to pay for it [laughing]…having familiar faces there, people you trust, whose opinion you trust, I think that is the key to having a positive birth experience...."

 

"I was immediately struck by how clinical and white it was. It just didn't have any warmth to it at all. The lights were bright and the room felt bare and unhomely."

 

"Anytime I had to make a decision about anything, I always asked them [hospital staff] if I could have some time with my team to discuss it, and they left us alone and gave us space, as much as we needed. I was able to talk things over with my partner and make decisions…I found that really, really excellent."

 

"That was why the break down happened because I built this relationship with one person for my entire pregnancy and then I just meet this guy at the end of the day who is taking care of my natal birth.  Right, so, I don’t know. It’s just frustrating."

 

"What an exceptional experience that was, a privileged, professional but also personal [experience]… I had the best care, the absolute best care…What I saw was how well the home care in labour worked, the midwives…the ambulance, the hospital, and the after-care… they all worked so professionally amongst each other to give me and my baby the best care."